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Thursday, May 23, 2013

Landfall - Part 1

Time to break into the notebook with the richest vein - the one I wrote in while doing customer support for AT&T. Lots of neat stuff in here. Also lots of horrible and semi-suicidal poetry as my depression deepened on the path to my eventual nervous breakdown. Anyway, TMI aside here is one of the cooler ideas I had forgotten about! Looks like I was assuming a d20 hack. And stealing ideas like a bandit on meth.

Fantasy World - originally
Very Tolkienesque. Elves are the guardians of the world. Immortal and god-like. (Use rules for racial classes.) Hobbits are more adaptable and human-like. Dwarves are even more reclusive and taciturn. Has Tolkien-style religion. Elves were first-born, come from the Isle of the Angels where God's servants live. There are also the goblinoid races though they were recently defeated in a great war where the Dark One fell. Super generic stuff.

Then Came...
The world is within the borders of a Star Trek Federation style inter-stellar government. Was left alone due to Prime Directive type rules (and a secret, unmentioned reason - this world has a "Q"-like being protecting it). The Federation recently lost a war and this territory to a hostile Confederation. These newcomers found a unique source of energy on the planet and meant to exploit it.

The war between the Federation and Confederation awoke the Protector (the elves' god) and it shielded the planet, cutting it off from the outside. Now both sides have people trapped with the natives. Time passes... (I'm guessing at least a generation or three.)

Federation consists of the Dogon, Oans, Cestorians (elder things)
Confederation consists of the Kzinti and the Mi-Go.

The Elves - The elders are now shamed by their inability to stop the intruders. They have retreated farther into their forests and caves since the Shielding. All those seen now are youngsters with wanderlust or older elves sent out on a mission.

The Dwarves - Fascinated by technology the dwarves have come farther out of their caves and vaults. Still a suspicious lot, but they are learning to change. The race has almost split in two over the neophiles and the traditionalists.

The Hobbits - Still the most plentiful, still the most adaptable. They have rolled with the changes better than anyone. Equally likely to be farming as a scientist in a city.

The Goblins - Confederation hard-liners have been using them for cannon fodder and guinea pigs. Some have rebelled and are attempting "civilization", even if they aren't very good at it. The rest are being changed in other ways...

Oans - Delicate and highly intelligent. The Oans are the glue that holds the Federation together. While not as naturally technical as others, they are master diplomats and lovers of peace.

Cestorians - Hybrid flora/fauna, the Cestorians are master scientists and have driven the Federation forward. Their lack of understandable emotions is worrisome at times but they rarely cause problems as long as they are allowed to do research.

Was raised in tech environment. Knows basics of why it works if
not how (like most 21st century people with their
tech).

Expert

Knows magical secrets and how best to use them. Wizards and
sorcerers.

Understands scientific theories and works with them. Scientists
and engineers.

Magic comes from the Protector - it was taught by him so his children could manipulate the world more effectively. Because of this, in a magic vs. tech standpoint, magic wins since it alters the rules that tech plays by. However it comes with a personal cost and is rarely useful to the common man.

Magic uses personal-cost rules similar to how d20 Call of Cthulhu works. Casting a spell does ability score damage and possibly Sanity if implemented.